The managerial sack race is often a big part of the Premier League season. This campaign, however, clubs have been more reserved. Former Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom and Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper are the only men to have been dismissed, while Roy Hodgson stepped down from Crystal Palace in March and Julen Lopetegui left Wolves before a ball had been kicked.
The previous season saw a record 14 managers sacked. It is perhaps not surprising that women’s football is more conservative. Only five managers have been sacked in the past two Women’s Super League seasons – and they have come from the same clubs.
Brighton are accountable for three, with Hope Powell and Jens Scheuer dismissed last season while Mel Phillips was let go in February. The other two came at Leicester, Lydia Bedford last season and Willie Kirk last month.
Pressing the panic button does not always work. There are obvious cost issues with doing so and there is no guarantee that the replacements will fare any better. There is also something to be said for persistence.
Manchester City could easily have sacked Gareth Taylor after failing to win a trophy or qualify for the Champions League last season. The club stuck by him and are now in with a chance of winning a first WSL title in eight years.
Manchester City could easily have sacked Gareth Taylor after failing to win a trophy or qualify for the Champions League last season but are in with a chance of winning a first WSL title in eight years
Scotland failed to qualify for the World Cup yet still awarded Pedro Martinez Losa a new contract
Willie Kirk was sacked by Leicester last month in the WSL’s latest managerial change
But the issue in the women’s game is that sometimes clubs and countries persist with mediocrity.
Scotland failed to qualify for the World Cup yet still awarded Pedro Martinez Losa a new contract. They finished bottom of their Nations League group and were humiliated in their final game against England, with the Lionesses winning 6-0.
Their relegation to League B saw them drawn in a Euro 2025 qualifying group with Serbia, Slovakia and Israel. It is a group they should be topping but in their first fixture they were held to a 0-0 draw in Serbia. How much longer can the Scottish FA keep Losa in his position?
It is obvious they are not progressing and that a change is required.
There can be the same lack of decisiveness at club level. Tottenham eventually sacked Rehanne Skinner after nine straight defeats in the league last season. Skinner is not a bad manager, as evidenced by her work at West Ham, but it was obvious things had gone stale.
Part of the problem could be that owners are less invested in the day-to-day running of their women’s teams. Would Spurs chairman Daniel Levy have let the manager of the men’s side get to as many as nine defeats in a row?
Another issue is that there are less managers to choose from in the women’s game, or at least less obvious standout names. Chelsea’s recruitment process for Emma Hayes’ successor has shown that world class coaches are not easy to come by.
While most women’s clubs are reserved, Brighton are the exception to the rule. But has their cut-throat approach worked? Yes and no. Powell’s position had become untenable after an 8-0 defeat by Tottenham, but the subsequent appointment of Scheuer was a mistake.
The biggest managerial question mark currently is whether Marc Skinner should be let go by Manchester United
Tottenham eventually sacked Rehanne Skinner after nine straight defeats in the league last season
Phillips came in and kept the club up and her sacking in February felt harsh given she was still fairly new into the role. But there is no denying that interim boss Mikey Harris, who is nominated for manager of the month for March, has done a good job since taking over.
The biggest managerial question mark currently is whether Marc Skinner should be let go by Manchester United. Skinner is out of contract at the end of the season and several supporters have called for him to leave at different points of the campaign.
United are nine points adrift of the Champions League places and 15 off top spot. The FA Cup is their last hope of silverware in what has been a disappointing season, but Skinner may still have some credit in the bank after taking the club to their best ever finish last term.
Not every situation is straightforward, but it is clear too many in the women’s game are happy to stick when it is better to twist.
Sarina Wiegman aiming to stop Keira Walsh being targeted
It was a case of the same old problems for England against Sweden last week. Keira Walsh was marked out of the game and Swedish boss Peter Gerhardsson was happy to give other teams the blueprint for how to stop the Lionesses playing.
‘We defended a little bit lower than normal and tried to take Walsh out of the game,’ Gerhardsson said. It worked well, but this is a common tactic that teams have deployed against England.
‘We basically have to solve that [teams targeting Walsh] every game, we were expecting this,’ Wiegman said. The worry is that England did not seem to have the solution.
England did not seem to have the solution as Keira Walsh’s impact was limited against Sweden
Walsh was marked out of the game as the Lionesses were held by Sweden last time out
The Lionesses boss is expected to make some changes for Tuesday’s game with the Republic of Ireland, one of whom is likely to be Jess Park – who would play in the No 10 role if selected. What’s certain is England will have to be less predictable if they want to create more chances than they did against the Swedes.
Youngsters could fix England’s lack of strikers
Sarina Wiegman does not have a plethora of No 9s to choose from in the England squad but there are encouraging signs further down the pathway. Poppy Pritchard and Michelle Agyemang are two bright strikers who have impressed for the U19s last week.
Pritchard, who joined Manchester City in January, scored in the 2-0 win over Switzerland while Arsenal’s Agyemang netted the winner against Portugal.
Poppy Pritchard could one day lead the line for England after impressing for the U19s last week
The U23s are the next age group down from the seniors and while Aggie Beever-Jones is surely close to a first team call up, she can also play out wide as well as through the middle.
Pritchard and Agyemang have the talent to progress if their clubs can get their development right in the short-term.
